There are a lot of Denverites who may just be collectively discovering that the city once had a Chinatown.
But cousins Linda Lung and Heather Clifton grew up hearing stories about the lost district.
“We used to have family reunions and we used to talk about our family,” Lung said. “We would go in and interview some of our elders and we would learn little snippets and everything.”
Lung and Clifton are descendants of Ahmoy Lung, who moved from Oregon to Denver in the late 1800s and lived in Chinatown, now known as Lower Downtown.
While two separate incidents decades apart all but wiped Chinatown from the map, some families, like the Lungs, remained in the area.
The cousins contributed family heirlooms to the 'Where is Chinatown?' History Colorado exhibit.
Denverite spoke to the cousins at the History Colorado Center after they saw its new “Where is Chinatown?” exhibit for the first time.
In addition to documenting the history of the region, the exhibit features architectural renderings of how future redevelopment to LoDo could pay homage to the lost district.
Many of the artifacts on display came directly from Lung and Clifton, who rummaged through boxes and trunks at home to uncover long-lost family heirlooms.
“We had a lot of different things, clothing and shoes,” Clifton said. “And there's tea boxes and medicines and a liquor bottle and all kinds of things that came from our archives.”
Lung, Clifton and other Asian Americans in Colorado hope to use the new exhibit to build momentum
For the last few years, Lung and Clifton have been involved with the advocacy group Colorado Asian Pacific United, which has been working to raise awareness and gain recognition for Denver’s lost Chinatown.
For them, getting the exhibit at History Colorado means the history of both Chinatown and of their family is being taught to an incredibly large audience.
“We want other people to know some of the things that we have discovered and we want to preserve that history because otherwise it will be lost,” Clifton said.
The cousins plan to continue to stay involved with CAPU as the organization shifts its focus to find more ways to elevate other Asian American communities in Denver.
Because the Denver metro area’s Asian community isn’t as concentrated as cities like Los Angeles and Chicago, Lung said the next step is creating a space to bring everyone together.
“I still think there's an identity and I still think that there is an interest and how we can better serve all of the Asian American and Pacific Islander populations,” Lung said.
History Colorado’s “Where is Chinatown?” exhibit is open through August 2025.
